Geographic Range
Pteromyscus pulverulentus is found throughout the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and northern Borneo (Sabah and Sarawak).
Habitat
Pteromyscus pulverulentus primarily occupies lowland primary forests (Niethammer, 1988). It is less common in higher elevations up to 3.000 ft. (Nowak, 1991).
- Habitat Regions
- tropical
- Terrestrial Biomes
- rainforest
Physical Description
The body length of Pteromyscus pulverulentus ranges from 22 to 29 cm, tail length from 18 to 23 cm, hind foot length from 38 -45 mm, and ear length from 17 to 23 mm (Medway, 1978). Muul and Lim (1971) gave the weight as 134 to 252 g. The dental formula is 1/1 0/0 2/2 3/3. The upperparts are dark brown to blackish, the basal hairs are grey with buffy or whitish subterminal bands, giving a frosted appearance. The underparts are buffy white, the feet are light brown, and the cheeks are grey. The tail exhibits longer hairs on sides than on the top or bottom, giving it a slightly flattened profile, but not as pronounced as in Glaucomys species. The bushy tail is greyish brown with blackish hairs at the tip.
- Other Physical Features
- endothermic
- bilateral symmetry
Reproduction
Pteromyscus pulverulentus individuals breed and give birth in Malaysia in all months of the year (Medway, 1978). The litter size is 1 to 2, with an average of 1.3. Litters and pregnant females are found throughout the year, though only in small numbers.
- Key Reproductive Features
- iteroparous
- year-round breeding
- gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
- sexual
- fertilization
- viviparous
- Parental Investment
- altricial
Behavior
Smoky Flying Squirrels are nocturnal animals and are mainly solitary. In Sabah they spend their days roosting in tree holes 3 to 4 meters above the ground (Payne et. al. 1985).
Communication and Perception
Food Habits
This species is believed to feed on plant material including leaves, buds, blossoms, and young shoots (Muul and Lim, 1978).
- Plant Foods
- leaves
- fruit
Conservation Status
Status: IUCN - Lower risk: near threatened.
Muul (1989, in Nowak, 1991) warned that human exploitation of the primary forest habitat of Pteromyscus could seriously threaten this unique genus, resulting in its disappearance from Thailand and Malaysia.
Other Comments
Aeromys tephromelas , the Black Flying Squirrel, is a similar species. It is larger, with a rounded, fluffy tail, and has greyish, fluffy hair on its underparts (Payne et. al. 1985).
Additional Links
Contributors
Rudolf Haslauer (author), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Cynthia Sims Parr (editor), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
- oriental
-
found in the oriental region of the world. In other words, India and southeast Asia.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- tropical
-
the region of the earth that surrounds the equator, from 23.5 degrees north to 23.5 degrees south.
- rainforest
-
rainforests, both temperate and tropical, are dominated by trees often forming a closed canopy with little light reaching the ground. Epiphytes and climbing plants are also abundant. Precipitation is typically not limiting, but may be somewhat seasonal.
- endothermic
-
animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.
- bilateral symmetry
-
having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.
- iteroparous
-
offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).
- year-round breeding
-
breeding takes place throughout the year
- sexual
-
reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female
- fertilization
-
union of egg and spermatozoan
- internal fertilization
-
fertilization takes place within the female's body
- viviparous
-
reproduction in which fertilization and development take place within the female body and the developing embryo derives nourishment from the female.
- altricial
-
young are born in a relatively underdeveloped state; they are unable to feed or care for themselves or locomote independently for a period of time after birth/hatching. In birds, naked and helpless after hatching.
- nocturnal
-
active during the night
- motile
-
having the capacity to move from one place to another.
- solitary
-
lives alone
- herbivore
-
An animal that eats mainly plants or parts of plants.
- folivore
-
an animal that mainly eats leaves.
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
References
Medway, L. 1978. The Wild Mammals of Malaya and Singapore . Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Muul, I., B. Lim. 1978. Comparative morphology, food habits, and ecology of some Malayasian arboreal rodents. Pp. 361-368 in The Ecology of Arboreal Folivores . Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
Niethammer, J. 1988. Grzimek's Enzyklopädie der Säugetiere Band 3 . München: Kindler Verlag.
Nowak, R. 1991. Walker's Mammals of the World . Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Payne, J., C. Francis, K. Phillips. 1985. A Field Guide to the Mammals of Borneo . The Sabah Society.
Wilson, D., D. Reeder. 1993. Mammal Species of the World, Second edition . Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.